Vegan Hot Dogs

I associate hot dogs with summer BBQs, evenings at the beach and breezy nights on the roof at home. But it is not often that we have hot dogs at home, since we try to stay away from packaged food as much as possible.

Having a good sausage is the key here… and what is better than a homemade one?! 🙂 I made these ones with red lentils, however, black beans or kidney beans will also work just as fine. It is important to spice up the mixture with a variety of spices to have a tasty ‘sausage’. There are no preservatives and no added sugar in them, so they are healthier than packaged ones. Compared to meat products, these vegan hot dogs contains less fat, fewer calories, and are lower in cholesterol.

I shaped the mixture into 10cm sausages and managed 12 sausages from the below recipe. You can also make a bigger batch as they freeze well. After you shape the sausages, place them on a tray and freeze them before transferring them to a container or freezer bags. When it is time to consume them, let them thaw slightly before frying/grilling them.

As for the buns, I used the recipe for my Burger buns. I divided the dough into 6 (instead of 8) and shaped them into hot dog buns. Here is the link to the recipe for thehot dog buns.

Note: The recipe for the buns is not vegan. Therefore, please make sure that you get the appropriate type of bread for a full vegan meal.

Directions

Rinse the red lentils and place them in saucepan together with the vegetable stock. Cook until tender and then drain any excess liquid.

In a pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and the grated carrot for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

In a food processor, add the cooked lentils, onion-carrot mixture and the rest of the ingredients. Gently pulse until a thick paste will form. You might need to add 1-2 tablespoons of water but be careful not to over do it.

Cover and let it cool completely before shaping the ‘sausages’.

Lightly dust the work surface with some flour. Take a spoonful from the mixture and shape it into a sausage. The flour will prevent the mixture from sticking to the surface and your hands.

Place the ‘sausages’ onto a baking sheet and chill for at least 30 minutes before cooking. (If you are going to freeze them, do so at this stage).

Gently fry the sausages in a hot pan or place them in your oven under a hot grill until golden brown all around.

Serve in a hot dog bun with your favourite toppings and a side of potato wedges.